News Releases Archives

2002

December

December 4:The Mouse Genome And The Measure of Man
The international Mouse Genome Sequencing Consortium announces the publication of a high-quality draft sequence of the mouse genome - the genetic blueprint of a mouse - together with a comparative analysis of the mouse and human genomes describing insights gleaned from the two sequences. The paper appears in the Dec. 5 issue of the journal Nature.

November

November 18:Key Personnel Changes
NHGRI announces key personnel changes, including the appointment of a new scientific director to run its intramural research program, a new director for the extramural program and new advisors in the Office of the Director.

November 18:NHGRI Names New Scientific Director
NHGRI selects Eric D. Green, M.D., Ph.D., as the new scientific director for the National Human Genome Research Institute. The scientific director leads the institute's Division of Intramural Research (DIR), a research program that includes a staff of more than 400 and an annual budget exceeding $80 million.

November 18:NHGRI Names New Intramural Clinical Director
NHGRI names William A. Gahl, M.D., Ph.D., as its new intramural clinical director. As head of the Office of the Clinical Director, Dr. Gahl will oversee the efforts of NHGRI intramural researchers to develop better approaches for diagnosing, treating, managing and, ultimately, preventing genetic and genomic disorders.

November 18:NHGRI Appoints New DER Director
NHGRI names Mark S. Guyer, Ph.D., as Director of the Division of Extramural Research (DER) and two DER Associate Directors: Jane L. Peterson, Ph.D., and Bettie J. Graham, Ph.D. The associate directorships are new positions in the DER leadership structure.

October

October 29:NHGRI launches International Hap Map Project
An international research consortium has launched an approximately $100 million public-private effort to create the next generation map of the human genome. Called the International HapMap Project, this new venture is aimed at speeding the discovery of genes related to common illnesses such as asthma, cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

October 23:Funding for Global Protein Database Will Create One Reliable Resource
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), in cooperation with five other institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a three-year, $15-million grant to combine three of the world's current protein sequence databases into a single global resource.

October 15:NHGRI Scientist Named 2004 President-Elect of American Society of Human Genetics
The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) has selected Robert L. Nussbaum, M.D., of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to serve as the group's president in 2004. Dr. Nussbaum is chief of both the Genetic Disease Research Branch and the Inherited Disease Research Branch in NHGRI's Division of Intramural Research.

October 15:New Guide Helps Researchers Mine Genome Data
The Internet is teeming with user's guides for everything from cell phones to the space station. Now, to encourage greater scientific exploration of public databases containing the human genome sequence, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has created "A User's Guide to the Human Genome."

September 11:NHGRI Adds Cow and Dog To High Priority List For Sequencing Model Organisms
The National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research has recommended adding the cow, the dog and the ciliate Oxytricha to the high-priority list of model organisms for genome sequencing as capacity becomes available. Cow and dog join a growing group of high priority animals that includes chimpanzee, chicken and honeybee.

September 9:NHGRI Names Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D. to be New Deputy Director
Alan Edward Guttmacher, M.D., has been named as the second deputy director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), the institution responsible for leading the Human Genome Project (HGP). Dr. Guttmacher brings an extensive clinical genetics background to the HGP at a time when researchers are beginning to translate the information contained in the nearly completed human genome sequence into medical advances.

July

July 31:NHGRI Funds Two New Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has awarded two new grants in its Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS) program to teams of scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, Calif., and the Molecular Sciences Institute, Berkeley, Calif.

May

May 22:NHGRI Prioritizes Next Organisms to Sequence
The National Human Genome Research Institute has prioritized the next group of organisms to be considered for entry into the sequencing pipeline as the current efforts with human, mouse and rat approach completion.